Monday Mantra – Happiness, It’s your Job

Happy Monday! Let’s do this! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.

Happiness is not an outside, it’s an inside job – Fortune Cookie

I received this message in a fortune cookie last week, and it resonated with me. Happiness is not something that just happens, it is a job. We are happy when we choose to be happy. When we choose to be happy, our actions follow. How you spend your time, who you surround yourself with, and what you focus on, have a significant impact on your happiness. How you make these choices is based on your decision to be happy.

Let’s tie this in to fitness, as this is a triathlon blog. Personally, I race and train for triathlons because it makes me happy. The exercise contributes to good physical and mental health. I love the triathlon community, as triathletes are supportive and always looking to improve. What I love most is signing up for a race, and having something to train for and look forward to. I may complain when the training gets difficult, but making that progress toward a goal makes me happy.

I raced my first triathlon on Saturday – the Beach 2 Battleship 70.3 in my hometown of Wilmington, NC. Everyone kept telling me this is the ONLY time I will cross the finish line the FIRST time, so to be happy. I was doing the race for fun and to just do it, not for a time goal, so I made an effort to smile, to give thumbs up, and I even roared when I was done (scaring small children in the process). It was hard, hot, I had cramps, but it was fun and I was happy and finished in just over 6 hours! Amazing amazing amazing!